From the Brink: The Story Behind Sapcote Community Library
Most people who pop into the library on Church Street for a book, a chat, or a free cup of tea probably don’t think much about how it ended up being run by volunteers in the first place. But it’s a story worth telling, especially as we count down to our 10th anniversary.
A Legacy of Service (1920’s–2016)
For over 90 years, Leicestershire offered a County Council network of public libaries, Sapcote Library was one of these . Like many rural libraries across England, it served as a vital link to the wider world. Before the digital age, it was the place to find reference materials and discover new stories, all while being part of a centralized system that connected small villages to county-wide resources.
As technology evolved, so did the library. By the mid-1980s, the familiar manual systems began to give way to early computing, and over the following decades, our library plugged into shared digital catalogues connecting residents to thousands of books from across the county long before the internet became a household utility.
The Turning Point
By 2014, however, the landscape of public funding began to shift. Facing the harsh realities of national austerity measures, the County Council proposed cuts that threatened to close many smaller branches. Across England, over 300 libraries were either shuttered or forced to change how they operated.
For Sapcote Library, the writing was on the wall. Leicestershire County Council had to find serious savings in its library budget. The plan that came out of that review split the county’s libraries into two groups: 16 “main” libraries that the council would keep running itself, and 36 smaller, mostly rural libraries, including ours, that were earmarked to transfer to local community groups instead.
It wasn’t an easy moment for villages like Sapcote. The council set aside a £150,000 fund to help communities take libraries on, and called on residents across the county to come forward. Not every library made it through that transition, Barwell’s library closed rather than finding a volunteer group to take it on, and places like Measham, Ibstock, Castle Donington and Kegworth in North West Leicestershire were named as particularly at risk.
Sapcote steps up
Initially the community of Sapcote withdrew application to maintain a Community Library, but after further thought there was formation of a community group, led by marketing coordinator Mervin Wallace, who put it plainly at the time: “It’s a challenge, but we can make this an opportunity to pull together and create an asset that will add even more value to everyone in Sapcote.” Parish Council chair Anna Davies welcomed the news too, saying it was “gratifying to know that the village has so many community minded people who are willing to give up their time to save this valuable service”.
https://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/volunteers-take-over-village-library-10732345
That community group went on to formally register Sapcote Community Library as a charity on 6 June 2016, the moment our library officially became ours to run.
A short time later, nearly 100 people turned out for the grand reopening. It was a proper village occasion: retired Falklands Vulcan bomber pilot Martin Withers DFC and display pilots John Wood and Bob Miller were there, along with author Pamela Newton, who cut the ribbon and donated signed copies of her novel Doppelganger.
https://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/gallery-sapcote-community-library-opens-11761216
Still here, still volunteer-run
Sapcote was one of the last of that original wave of libraries to complete the switch to community management, alongside Measham, Thurmaston and Cosby. Across the county, dozens of villages went through the same journey, some are still thriving today, while others, like Ibstock, have had to fight to keep their doors open in the years since.
Ten years on, we’re still here, still entirely run by volunteers, still serving the village, and still relying on the same community spirit that saved us back in 2016. That’s exactly what our 10 for 10 campaign is about: making sure the next ten years are as secure as the first.
To find out more about our 10 for 10 campaign or to donate 10 years at Sapcote Library
